The 2024 season will mark John Vodenlich’s 21st season at the helm of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater program and his 23rd season overall as an NCAA Div. III head coach. Vodenlich took over the UW-Whitewater program prior to the 2004 season following two seasons as head coach at nearby Edgewood College in Wisconsin.
In 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has compiled a 712-257-1 (.734) record, becoming the winningest coach in Whitewater baseball history while boasting one of the highest win percentages among NCAA Div. III coaches.
Under Vodenlich, the Warhawks have advanced to the NCAA Div. III College World Series six times during their 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, capturing national titles in 2005 and 2014 and earning their skipper ABCA National Coach of the Year honors both years.
His Warhawk teams have won 14 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships, with Vodenlich earning WIAC Coach of the Year honors 10 times. A six-time ABCA Regional Coach of the Year, Vodenlich been honored three times as the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) College Coach of the Year and was named the 2005 WBCA Man of the Year.
In 2015, he became the youngest inductee into the WBCA Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame (2019) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame (2007) as a former student-athlete.
Vodenlich has been a featured clinician across the globe. In addition to being a featured clinician at the 2014 ABCA Convention, he has conducted coaching clinics in Germany, England, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. He is a member of the International Sports Group Board of Directors.
Prior to being named the seventh head coach in UW-Whitewater history, Vodenlich served on the UW-Whitewater coaching staff as an assistant coach from 1994-97. Following two seasons as the head coach at Edgewood, Vodenlich rejoined the staff at UW-Whitewater in 1999 as an assistant coach before taking over the program following the 2003 season.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Vodenlich starred for the Warhawks from 1989- 92. He finished his collegiate career with a .397 career batting average, good for third in school history. His .456 average in 1991 is the third-best single-season average in program history. He became the first two-time All-American in UW-Whitewater history, receiving the honor in 1991 and 1992.
Following his collegiate career, Vodenlich went on to play professionally in Europe, winning the Slovenian National Championship in 1994.
